West Bridge Journals

The Last Full Measure

His uniform was not that of the armed forces of our country, but no less honorable. He never had to face an opposing army advancing on him, but he walked in harms way daily. He never served in a foreign land, but he lived eight hours a day in a world most people know little or nothing about. We are thankful that our armed forces are out there standing in the gap, but we are no less thankful that Ruben stood between us and the evil that exist behind the prison fence. He knew the danger, but refused to be paralyzed by it. Bill Brewer, the officer that rushed to his aid is the best example of that kind of courage. So today and the rest of the tomorrows as the anguish of our loss starts to dim, we should build a memorial in our hearts for those that shouldered the burden of watching over the incarcerated and gave their last full measure of courage.